13. Germany Flashcards
What geographic quadrant of Germany are most wine regions located in?
The Southwest of Germany
What is the approximate split between red wine and white wine production in Germany?
2/3 white
1/3 red
Riesling is the most widely planted grape in the country, accounting for 1/5th of the total vineyard acreage. Muller-Thurgau (Riesling x Madeline Royal) is the second most heavily planted white grape.
Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) is the most planted red grape and the second most planted of any grape (behind Riesling).
What are the top 3 red grapes of Germany?
Spatburgunder
Dornfelder
Blauer Portugieser
What are the top 3 white grapes of Germany?
Riesling
Mueller-Thurgau
Silvaner
And…
- Grauburgunder
- Weissburgunder
What are the basic quality levels of German wine?
Wein
Geschutze Geographische Angabe (GGA)
Qualitatswein
Pradikatswein
PGI = GGA
PDO = Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein
What are the subcategories for Pradikatswein in the German quality scheme?
In ascending order of grape ripeness:
Kabinett
Spatlese
Auslese
Beerenauslese
Eiswein
Trockenbeerenauslese
Describe a Kabinett wine:
Will be a high quality, Pradikatswein wine with a low sugar and likely low alcohol level. Light to medium body.
Describe an Auslese wine:
This will be a quality Pradikatswein wine, likely fuller body, higher alcohol.
Auslese = selected harvest.
What is a TBA in Germany?
Trockenberrenauslese: highest tier of grape ripeness / sugar levels of the Pradikatswein tier. These are made from individually selected, very late harvest grapes. TBAs are considered to be amongst the world’s best dessert wines.
Will a wine noted as Beerenauslese be a dry, off dry, or sweet wine?
Most likely to be a sweet wine.
What does an Oechsle measurement refer to?
Measure of sugar present in the grape must (measured in degrees). This is the basis of the Pradikatswein sub categorization by grape ripeness.
Kabinetts: 70-85
Dried Grapes: 150+
What is the hierarchy of geographical indications in Germany?
(Note: not PGI, PDO - but geogrpahical gropuings)
Anabaugebiete: 13 recognized wine regions for PDO wines. Both Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein require a single Anabaugebiete as a place of Origen.
Bereiche: There are 40 Bereiche. Each Anabaugebiete has at least one Bereiche. These are like district appellations.
Grosslagen: There are 160 Grosslagen. These are administrative groupings of vineyards, not terroir driven.
Einzellagen: There are 2700 Einzellagen. Each Grosslagen has numerous Einzellagen. In theory, this is a single vineyard, but these were created but putting much smaller vineyards together (there were once 30,000 Einzellagen). Each Einzellagen may be divided across multiple owners.
What is the name of the system used to measure sweetness of the grape must in Germany?
Oechsle - this is the basis for the subcateorization of Pradikatswein wines
True or Fasle: The Oechsle measurement for dried grapes is around 150 degrees.
True. A must for a Kabinett style wine would be sit in the 70-85 range.
How many Anabaugebiete are there in Germany?
13
Are all German wines attributable to an Anabaugebiete?
No. This is only relevant for PDO wines. Both PDO levels - Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein - must be attributable to a single Anabaugebiete.
How many Bereiche are there in Germany?
Approximately 40.
What is the relationship to Grosslagen designations and the terroir of the land?
Very little. These are administrative groupings more so than terroir driven groupings. There are approximately 160 Grosslagen in Germany today.
Approximately how many Einzellagen are there in Germany?
- (At one point, there were 30,000 - but significant consolidation has taken place.)
True or False: There may be multiple owners / operations within a single Einzellagen.
TRUE
True or False: The boundaries of a Grosslagen exist within the boundaries of a town.
False. Both a Grosslagen and an Einzellagen may cross town boundaries. It is for this reason that the addition of a village name alongside the name of the Einzellagen can be helpful to understand where the wine is truly coming from.
What was announced in April of 2021 regarding the geographical indication guidelines for Germany?
New guidelines are coming forward for the 2025 vintage which will place greater emphasis on village, commune, and vineyard specific appellations. This is a significant evolution from tradition.
What does Erzeugerabfullung mean?
“Producer bottled” - likely through a cooperative of growers
What does Gutsabfullung mean?
“Estate bottled”
What is the difference between the designation Erzeugerabfullung and Gutsabfullung?
Erzeugerabfullung indicates that the wine was made by a co-op / “producer bottle”. Gutsabfullung indicates that the wine was estate grown, produced, and bottled. Abfullur means that the wine was produced by a commercial winery who bought their fruit from other growers.
What does Abfuller mean on a German wine?
Indicates the wine comes from a commercial winery who has purchased the fruit in bulk from other growers.
All PDO wines of Germany will have an AP number on them. What is that?
This is an Amtliche Prufungsnummer. It identifies the wine, its village and winery of origin, and the specific testing center where the wine was approved.
Cite the four levels of the VDP classification system in Germany.
VDP Grosse Lage
VDP Erste Lage
VDP Orstwein
VDP Gutswein (lowest)
What does GG on the label of a German wine mean?
Grosses Gewach. The top of the quality of the VDP quality indications.
If it is a dry wine, it may also be labeled with Qualitatswein Trocken.
If it is a sweet wine, it will be labeled with one of the Pradikat levels: KSABET.
How do the Pradikat levels align with VDP levels for a German wine?
For the top three tiers of the VDP structure - Gross Lage, Erste Lage, Orstwein - the Pradikat levels are reserved purely to indicate level of ripeness of the grapes used, allowing the Pradikat levels to retain their original intention. Indications such as Trocken will be used to indicate a dry wine.